“He was talking to a concrete wall”

NIJMEGEN – The Weezenhof residents’ platform is indignant at the conversation it had on February 14 about the new construction projects for the Weezenhof shopping center. Rob Hendriks of Dornick BV, the developer of the project, the architect of the plan and the municipality of Nijmegen sat at the table. “It spoke to a concrete wall, no adjustment was negotiable”.

The residents’ platform wants to stick to the alternative plan for the new building they presented in 2018 with the wishes of no large-scale supermarkets, no high residential towers and a maximum of five floors. In Dornick BV’s plans, part of the building is 12 storeys high.

“Local residents must accept that not everything can be implemented”

Last November, the town councilors and the alderman Noël Vergunst (GroenLinks) concluded that “better management of expectations vis-à-vis local residents must be done”. The alderman also added that “local residents must accept that certain ideas they propose cannot be implemented”.

The municipality of Nijmegen has now announced that “the conclusion after the conversation is that the initiator and the inhabitants present have different ideas about the content and are not on the same page with regard to the mass of the building, the size of the houses and the orientation of the building. We have asked the neighborhood platform to continue discussions with the developer and the school on the layout of the public space which still needs to be shaped definitively. is to be met. We would like to facilitating trade for that.”

“Cooperation refused”

Tineke Baart from the inhabitants’ platform informs us that since they believe that there are more important issues than the greenery around the car parks, “we refused to cooperate”. She further explains: “The adjustments to the development plan desired by the inhabitants of the district (adjustment of the height of the building, the mass of the building, the positioning of the building and the meeting place) were rejected as ‘financially unachievable’.” Additionally, she says Rob Hendriks further described it as “everything we earn outside of Nijmegen, we have to make up for it in Nijmegen”.

The Municipality of Nijmegen is currently working on the draft zoning plan which should allow for the redevelopment. “The plan has already been discussed with the Image Quality Committee in a preliminary meeting and they have indicated that they are positive about this development. We expect to be able to publish a draft zoning plan at the second quarter of 2022. An information evening will also take place at this time and anyone who wishes can submit a statement.

Next steps

The municipality also regrets “that the neighborhood platform does not feel the need to contribute ideas as a working group, but we respect their choice”. Rob Hendriks has informed us that he does not wish to speak to the press as the communication goes through the municipality of Nijmegen.

The local residents’ platform is now considering the next steps, such as filing opinions or challenges to the zoning plan, necessary for the environmental permit that the promoter must request from the municipality. The platform also wants to revive an old dormant association. “We will need it if we have to take legal action,” Baart writes.